Spring Break

So, who else is in town for spring break?

I've got to work, do my practicum, and work some more, but I should have time to meet up with other hardworking librarians who want to go out, watch a movie, play a game, etc.

unsolicited rejection

Here's a a story in keeping with my current employment status (I think I'm the only one updating the rejection count in our banner): a funny post from Siva Vaidhyanathan's (NYU professor; used to teach at SLIS) blog. He got a rejection letter for a job he didn't even apply for!

I see your Federsearch, and raise you....

Meatloaf!

(And I totally won a sweepstakes entry....)

And in case the Beer Belly isn't a covert enough booze smuggling tool, I present: the DRAM!

Contribute to the SLIS Silent Auction

Hi Friends!

So forgive me for using this as a forum to plug work-related events, but I wanted to encourage all of you (well, those of you in the area at least) to donate to the SLIS Silent Auction this year. It's a great way that you can help out the library! I know from being in management class with some of you this fall that there are plenty of things that bug you about this library, but most of those things can't be fixed if we can't raise the funds to address them!

I know we're a crafty bunch, and the silent auction is a good chance to show off your skills. Show your library some support and drop off crafts, slightly used items, or promises of services at the library circ desk. (I've already been promised a lucrative bid if I put cello lessons on the table!)

Not in a giving mood? Bidding begins Friday April 13th and continues through Thursday April 19th, so you can bid on the quality goods your fellow librarians contribute!

Okay, no more work promotion for me; I've done my part!

Yea, Pictures!

fast like a ninja

Move over dictionary.com, there's a new kid in town (new to me, in any case). I'd like to point out my new favorite website: Ninjawords. It's a really cool program, so pretty and simple; however, the definitions come from a "wiktionary" so don't go citing this shit anywhere important.

Vote Bitches, Part II

It's election time again and here is your friendly reminder to get out there and do your thang. The April election falls over Spring Break so if you are going out of town be sure to vote early. All you have to do is walk into the city clerk's office and vote away. Here is the link to the city clerk's office for more information on where to vote or how to vote absentee.

InterCultural Night -- tonight!

This is last-minute, but I wanted to let everyone know that the big InterCultural Night show will be tonight, 7-9 pm, in the Memorial Union Theater.

This is a free event that features a variety of music and dance from around the world. I went last year, and it was pretty awesome.

Since this is a free show, it's best to come a bit early to get a good seat. If anyone wants to meet up with me and find a seat together, just reply here.

Web datingis scary....

And here's the proof:

"From my pic you can tell I'm an "outdoor" gal. Right! I'm no candyass, that's for sure! Hobbies are riding my Yamaha (no Harley, motorcycles are the only thing I like about the Japanese). I'm also a member of a survival type group. We all know how to fire guns, live off the land. You'd be amazed about all the things you can do with mashed potato buds. was gonna go down to Texas with my former boyfriend, VERY former, if you know what I mean :) but he got former by being just too much of a white supremisist. I mean, wow, there are limits."--2/21/07

PoPoZao bitches!

K-Fed has his own search engine! Ms. Dewey has some serious competition...

best headline this week

Court hears 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case.

Happy Hour Tuesday...

is back at Genna's this week because they actually have thier tables outside. And they serve vodka.

Job Well Done

Thank you all for coming to our party! It was super fun! And as any good party should, it caused the neighbors to complain. Our downstairs neighbor banged on the door at 11:00am today; to inform me we were so loud he had to sleep at his brother’s last night. I say he was just jealous because he saw all the cute librarians, and he was sad he wasn’t invited. It’s not our fault we’re so awesome.

Btw - whoever has the next party, we have a lot of plastic cups left over – they are yours for the taking.

At Least Your Not Overrated Teachers

Check out the list of Best Careers from U.S. News. Librarians get a "A" for lifestyle, though a "C" for prestige, oh, a "C" for job outlook. One good thing...at least we're not overrated teachers! Though a much better career choice would have been landscape architect.

Happy Thursday

I have an interview- yippee!

Those dirty dirty kiddie books

If you liked the scrotum book, you'll LOVE these fine pieces of literature. I'm a big fan of "The Lonely Little Moonbeam."

So can I still use my "I was just holding for my werewolf buddy" excuse?

Prosecutor: Unicorn defense was a mixup

librarian wanted at Vogue?!

Hee hee, check out this job posting! Some lucky librarian's life could be just like Ann Hathaway's in the Devil Wears Prada! Just think of all the metadata one could assign to skinny jeans!

Now those Disney kimono don't seem so strange

Deb's post about Dinsey wedding gowns reminded me of something I once saw at a department store in Hiroshima.

Most big Japanese department stores have a kimono section, and I always liked to take a look at them. But in this one store, I saw a big advertisement for DISNEY PRINCESS KIMONO! They had the Little Mermaid one on display. It was a beautiful kimono (see link for images...warning, site is animation intensive and navigation is a bit tricky), but I thought it was really funny that there were Disney furisode.

Kimono lesson: the furisode is a long-sleeved kimono worn only by unmarried adult women. A young woman will normally wear a furisode for the first time at her coming-of-age ceremony, the year she turns 20 (legal age of adulthood in Japan). Traditionally, wearing the furisode was a signal that the woman was officially "on the market", that she was "out" in the society/debutante sense. Today there aren't many furisode wearing occasions, but families will have studio portraits taken of their daughter in her furisode for her coming-of-age and use these pictures in her matchmaking portfolio.

So the furisode is sort of like an Western prom gown or debutante ball gown, only more so. It's a garment that says "Here I am -- I'm not a girl, I AM a woman, I show honorable respect for the traditions of my culture, and if you're looking for a lady then I might be the one." I thought it was pretty funny that there was a whole line of furisode that added to this message, "Oh yeah, I really like Disney animated movies too!"

But this is nowhere NEAR as funny as ACTUALLY GETTING MARRIED in a Disney Princess-themed garment. Take that, Japan! Our women can be even MORE obsessed with cuteness than yours are!

this is just gross

Disney is taking the princess-for-a-day bridezilla phenomenon to a whole new level.

Because two posts in a row just wasn't enough...

I would like to propose...

DRINKS ON THE TERRACE TOMORROW NIGHT!

Rejoice in the warm weather!!! Any takers? It's way closer than Genna's and it'll make me feel like less of a bad dog owner if I don't have to walk 20 minutes out of the way to get to the late night drinks that keep me away from the aforementioned dog.

Say yes bitches.

(I really wish I remembered the exact wording of the opening sequences from "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" because I feel this blog post would've been an appropriate place to use it. 'I submit...for the approval of the Midnight Society...' or something? Sheesh.)

It's hard for me to admit this...but I'm a technosexual

Finally! Someone has created a hip, sexy fragrance for bloggers (like us)! Now if I can just figure out how to install that smell-o-vision webcam, I just know I could meet Mr. Right! That's right friends, its Calvin Klein's in2u. Why, the name itself implies "a casual invitation to sex so immediate as to imply there was no time to spell it out: “in to you.”"

And check out the super-sexy ad copy! “She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.” Whew! Is it hot in here, or is that just me?

Attention YA Librarians

That's right, Nick Hornby plans to introduce the crushing feelings of inadequacy felt by introspective single men everywhere to a whole new audience!

And in honor of that endeavor, the top 5 reasons I intend to love this book:

5. It can't get any worse than "A Long Way Down"
4. If it's ever made into a movie, there's no way (excluding the invention of a time machine or a massive collective suspension of disbelief) that it could star Jimmy Fallon or Drew Barrymore. It does, however, sound like the perfecct vehicle for that adorable boy from "Love Actually"...
3. Nick Hornby has always made me feel good by realizing that men are, for the most part, just as basketcase-y as women. If he can work the same magic by convincing me that adolescent boys had a similarly traumatizing time of it, count me in!
2. The main character "finds his way through conversations with a larger-than-life poster of his idol, champion skater Tony Hawk." Nothing makes for better reading than emotional self realizations that come with the aid of inanimate objects.
1. Please, it's Nick Hornby. I'd probably read it if it were printed on the back of a sugar cereal box...with a fun maze...and promise of free gift inside.

in other brit related "news"

I hate to make light of her situation, but Real Ultimate Britney really cracked me up.

But Brit, there's so much to live for!

A Whole New Level

Remember the job with the creepy questions regarding my happiness? I officially received a rejection letter from them today (despite the fact that I sent a letter withdrawing my application...). It's pretty standard except for the handwritten note at the bottom reaffirming my decision to avoid this library like the plague.

"You did good... We needed someone now. Good luck."


Good?! I did good?!?!?!?! You're the director of a public library! I DID WELL!!!!

TV on the Radio

Anyone care to go? It's kinda pricey, but I love them!

TV On the Radio

Orpheum Theatre, Madison, WI
Fri, Mar 16, 2007 08:00 PM

Money for Nothin' (And Your Books For Free)

I'd like you all to imagine that this song is being performed by a somewhat bitter cardiac nurse. (She should also be crudely animated using 1980s style CGI, as per the link.) This wasn't my original plan for the song, I just needed a good rhyme for "refrigerator" and the next thing I knew the lyrics were from the perspective of a health care professional. But it seemed to make sense, as nursing is another "pink collar" occupation whose membership might well feel that librarians have it easy.

Money for Nothin' (And Your Books For Free)

(I love my library...)

Now look at them bitches,
That's the way you do it,
You push the book cart in the library.
That ain't workin',
That's the way you do it,
Money for nothin',
And your books for free.
Now that ain't workin',
That's the way you do it,
Lemme tell ya, them gals ain't dumb.
Maybe get a blister on your shushin' finger,
Maybe lose a pencil in your bun.

We got to install cardiac pacers.
Medication deliveries.
We got to move these defibrillators,
We got to move these central IVs.

See the little spinster with the glasses and no makeup,
Oh baby, does her own hair.
That little spinster got her own Ford Taurus,
That little spinster, hasn't got a care.

We got to install cardiac pacers.
Medication deliveries.
We got to move these defibrillators,
We got to move these central IVs.

I shoulda learned to do the book talk,
I shoulda learned to catalog.
Look at that shelver,
She got books on tape and DVDs, man!
She must have some fun.
And she's up there, what's that? Digital records?
She's bangin' on the keyboard like a chimpanzee.
Oh, that ain't workin',
That's the way you do it,
Get your money for nothin',
And your books for free.

We got to install cardiac pacers.
Medication deliveries.
We got to move these defibrillators,
We got to move these central IVs.

Listen here!
Now that ain't workin',
That's the way you do it,
You push the book cart in the library.
That ain't workin',
That's the way you do it,
Money for nothin',
And your books for free.
Money for nothin',
And your books for free.
Get your money for nothin',
And your books for free.
Look at that, look at that!
Get your money for nothin',
(I love my, I love my...)
And your books for free.
(I love my library.)
Get your money for nothin'...

What's the scoop on UW-Milwaukee?

One of my friends from undergrad is looking to get her library degree through a distance-learning program. (She lives in Virginia, which shockingly has no ALA accredited library programs.) UW-Milwaukee is on her list, and she asked me if I knew anything about it. I was deeply ashamed to confess that I did not, in fact, know a single thing about it.

I'm hoping that one of you will prove to be less clueless than I am on this matter. Please help me to help my friend!

UW-M is more expensive than some of the other schools with online degree programs that my friend is considering, but she is interested in their Organization of Information concentration. She wants to be a cataloguer. Her undergrad degree was in English, and she has almost three years of library work experience (both public and academic).

If any of you think UW-M sounds like it would or would not be a good fit for her, let me know and I will pass the word on. She is also seriously considering Southern Conneticut State and Texas Woman's University, if anyone knows anything about them.

another good criminal

another one bites the dust

Check out the updated rejection total, bitches! I was actually relieved to get this particular "thanks but no thanks" letter. After the crazy ass interview I told all of my references to say bad things about me if they got a call.

In other news, here's my favorite criminal of the day.

Omg!

Which lucky librarian has honor of having the first job in the banner???

Gabe the guest blogger

Here is a real letter sent to the LC:

24 January 2007

Mrs. Mary Jane Deeb
Library of Congress
African and Middle Eastern Division Chief
101 Independence Ave. SE
Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ 220
Washington, D.C. 20540-4660

Dear Mrs. Deeb,

My name is ____________, am a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Library and Information Studies. Last Tuesday (16 January 2007) I had the honor of visiting the Library of Congress for the first time. Since I wish to specialize in managing and providing reference for Hebrew manuscript collections, the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room was my first stop at the Library after obtaining my reader card. The reason for my letter is alert you to treatment and the quality of reference service I received from a member of your staff, Ms. Sharon Horowitz.

Having conducted extensive independent research of illuminated Hebrew manuscripts in preparation for a Fulbright research grant, I was eager to conduct a codicological examination of the famous Washington Haggadah manuscript. When I arrived in the reading room I asked the receptionist if I might be able to speak to a reference librarian. After waiting approximately twenty-five minutes for a reference librarian to be located, I was granted a very hostile reference interview with Ms. Horowitz.

Upon meeting Ms. Horowitz, I politely asked about the process for requesting manuscripts. Without asking me any questions she said “you just tell me”. I told her I was interested in seeing the Washington Haggadah. When she brought me the facsimile, I clarified that I was interested in seeing the manuscript. “You want to see the manuscript?” She asked in a surprised and annoyed tone. Yes, I replied. “You want to see the manuscript?” She asked again incredulously and said “There’s a lot of forms you’ll have to fill out, you know”. After I consented to complete any and all required forms, she stormed off to get the forms and after taking a few steps away returned without any forms and begrudgingly told me I couldn’t see it because it was undergoing conservation work.

When I asked to see a second manuscript, she told me it was traveling and that I couldn’t see that either. I was appalled at her response after I asked to see a third manuscript: “What do you think this is? a candy store? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and did not understand why she was speaking to me in this tone and fashion. Hoping to get some direction and clarification I asked whether the Library’s Hebrew manuscripts were available for consultation at all. She seemed very bothered and even upset by inquiries. She became progressively agitated as I asked for her help and soon began to address me in a very unprofessional manner and used a tone of voice that violated the silence of the reading room.

She told me that access to the manuscripts was only provided for legitimate research purposes. When I asked her what I had to do to prove that my purposes were legitimate she told me that I simply had to tell her so. So, I tried to explain I had a legitimate research purpose but she became very impatient and after more heated negotiations demanded that I tell her what I wanted and what I wanted to see. So in a panic, I pointed to a different manuscript on my checklist. “You want to see that?” she asked again in disbelief. I asked her why she was so upset by my questions. She repeatedly complained that she didn’t know what I wanted and that retrieving manuscripts would create a lot of work for her. I soon wondered whether what I was asking of her was indeed not part of her job.

When I named another item I wanted to see, she stormed off again and several minutes later came back with a series of internet print outs showing me how to access digital images of the last manuscripts I requested. After she explained the print outs to me she immediately asked me a very antagonistic way: “What, you don’t want these? Fine” before she could snatch them away from me I tried to assure her that I did want them. Again I tried to explain that I understood the capability I had of viewing these manuscripts remotely in digital form, but that I had made a special journey to the Library of Congress with the sole purpose of seeing a selection of manuscripts from The Hebraic Collection.

Eventually, I convinced her to show me two items from the checklist I had brought with me. After she brought me those two items I asked if I have time to request a third item before the reading room closed. In the same antagonistic manner she asked me “Are you suggesting we stay open longer for you?” For a moment I thought perhaps she was asking a genuine question, but then realized it was another manifestation of the animosity with which she handled the entire reference interview.

To Sharon’s credit, I must recognize that perhaps I should have been more familiar with the reading room’s policies or perhaps had sent a request for specific materials before coming to the reading room. Albeit begrudgingly, she did offer me some instruction in using the Library’s on-line catalog, brought me the Washington Haggadah facsimile, three items from the closed stacks and showed me the exhibition catalog for From the Ends of the Earth, which I had been unfamiliar with until then. Notwithstanding, the service I received for Sharon could at best be described as hostile.

Additionally, I found the reading room and its collections very difficult to use. I was surprised by the lack of librarian visibility in the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, and by the fact that I could gain access to rare books without having to identify myself or fill out any form that registered which materials I requested. When I asked if a cradle or special handling equipment was available for safe handling of the material, Sharon’s answer was “No, just be carefull”. Furthermore, I was granted access to these precious materials without any curatorial supervision and did not receive any specification about where to return them when I finished.

With this letter I simply wish to notify you of my experience and hope it might help to improve public service in the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room as well as access to and stewardship of its collections. During my visit to the Library of Congress, I had the opportunity to use other reading rooms and found the service and usability of their collections to be like night and day in comparison to my experience in the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room.

I look forward to your reply,

___________________